Ask the Patriarch 261
I'd like your opinion on my beliefs.

from: Cat

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Hi:

I was agnostic most my life (To me agnostic is you neither believe or disbelieve but require proof either way?). I wonder if you would
tell me your honest opinion on this.

Each of us is
free to believe what we want. I've seen my proof but it is not something I could share with you. I
have a feeling you are more open minded than any of the 'religious' people I have spoken to so just imagine that what I say is true and then tell me
what you would then think.

Firstly, when we were created, GOD created us with freewill to choose between right and wrong. We would be pretty pointless if he didn't give us freewill. Because of
this, some chose to be evil and ignore what is
morally correct.

The days in Genesis were ages, not actual days. After the LORD created man he rested. The 7th day was his rest, that's why he doesn't intervene.

The bad stuff that happens to
mankind is all man's doing. Had everyone kept the ten commandments, we would not be in the strife we are in, would we? These laws were for our own
good.

The bible has been misinterpreted to the
point where all these man made religions have slandered GOD, blamed him for their sins and hurt
people who believe in him. That is where his wrath comes in (Revelations). I'd be peeved off if folk
twisted my words and made me out to be evil
also.

They read this book word for word and act on
it, disregarding what is right and wrong, just like
the pharisees when they crucified Jesus. They do
this because they think it will save them, not because they want to know the truth; e.g. when it says about homosexuals (I am straight), this word is used only in certain translations but some people take these words to mean gay people, hence the
translation to homosexuals.

How can they say GOD is
righteous and then tell me that he hates certain people because of whom they fall in love with, they
can't help this. There is no commandment that says 'Thou must not fall in love'.

They are hypocrites
and these people are the ones responsible for turning others against GOD.

Cat :)

The Patriarch replies:

I'll address a few points below, though I'll probably not cover everything. But overall, I don't think you have a consistent theology. But I don't think many people do. I suggest it is not possible to have a consistent theology given the source material. I'll say this - you do seem to have a moral sensibility, but I suggest you impose that sensibility on your interpretation the Bible rather than the other way around - getting morality from the Bible.

Some chose to be evil and ignore what is
morally correct. I tend to accept that we do have free will, bounded to a degree - but this is something with is in dispute, both in scientific circles, and in religious circles. There are those in both circles who argue against free will.

Some people certainly do choose to be evil. But not that many really make such a choice deliberately. A good bit of evil does arise out of ignoring what is morally correct. No question. Self interest too often has a higher priority than morality. But also, what I consider evil can also arise out of a different view of what is morally correct. For example - consider the article on child brides in Wednesday's Guardian. I (and I expect you) see the practice as fundamentally wrong, or evil. But the culture and interpretation of Islam in rural Yeman consider it morally correct. Evil can arise out of doing what someone perceives incorrectly to be morally correct. And that's the most pernicious type of evil.

The bad stuff that happens to
mankind is all man's doing. Uh no. Earthquakes, tornadoes, encounters with asteroids, epidemics etc. These were with the world before humankind came upon the scene - and they will be with the world even if we disappear.

Had everyone kept the ten commandments, we would not be in the strife we are in. Right. God gave the Israelites the 10 Commandments - then he told them to slaughter and enslave the existing inhabitants of land he supposedly gave them. That's not a recipe for avoiding strife.

Further, the various followers of the 10 commandments cannot even agree what they are. In addition, what we call the 10 commandments are primarily not morality, they are directions for the practice of a religion - specifically primitive Judaism. The 10 commandments are directed specifically and solely to the people he brought out of Egypt. No-one else. ("I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." The "thee" he is supposedly talking to in this opening passage, and the "thou" throughout the commandments are the same people - the Israelites.)

The bible has been misinterpreted to the
point where all these man made religions have slandered GOD. Misinterpreted? It is rather difficult if not impossible to establish a correct interpretation.

I'd be peeved off if folk twisted my words and made me out to be evil also. They read this book word for word and act on it, disregarding what is right and wrong. I'm confused. Those who are following the book word for word are twisting God's words and thus disregarding right and wrong? I do agree that following the Bible word for word does indeed ignore right and wrong - because in my view right and wrong are independent of any deity, independent of any scripture; and independent of any religion.

How can they say GOD is righteous and then tell me that he hates certain people? Because that is what the bible says. Even Jesus called the Canaanite woman a dog when she sought his help. That's certainly not righteous or love.

They are hypocrites
and these people are the ones responsible for turning others against GOD. The acts of some believers do succeed in turning some people against religion. But I suggest that more disbelief arises out of trying to make sense out of religion, then finding it does not make sense at all. It's not surprising that in studies of general religious knowledge, non-believers tend to score higher than most believers.